Monday, December 02, 2013

Hockey Tough - San Jose Sharks Baby!

Saturday night's NHL matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks was a reminder of just how tough the game and its players are. In Hockey, push comes to shove at the drop of the puck and the action is as brutally competitive as any contact sport.

I would guess that Hockey and Football employ the only professional competitors tough enough to last a round against the ultimate tough athletic competitor; the Boxer. Name me another sport where an injured participant would have his eyelid sliced open in order to continue competing? I know, Rocky Balboa is fiction, but its damn good fiction.

The San Jose Sharks finished off the Ducks with a save in the shootout period, winning their 6th game in a row. Their last five wins close-out a great home stand. Saturday's 4-3 win was just some all around great play by all the Sharks players. Goalee Antti Niemi's gloved catch for the save was a perfect example of shot anticipation, concentration and athletic reaction that are skills needed to play the position. Niemi has mastered the position.

The scary puck to the face injury that Sharks Joe Thornton sustained was final evidence that reveals the toughness of Hockey players one and all. Joe went down from a puck that ricocheted and hit him in the eye socket. He was able to return to the game with impaired vision and an ugly black and blueness surrounding the eye. But Joe's a gamer, and when asked after the game about the injury he responded with a classic line that hints to Raiders pride; "It's Hockey Baby!" Attaboy Joe!

Bay Area, get ready for a hot sports winter. The Sharks and Golden State Warriors have plans to carry us into May/June springtime playoffs.